


Ghost Training (Take One)

by brunettachoppa687, TTICSY (phantomofthefandoms)



Series: The Things I Could Show You [6]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-26
Updated: 2015-03-26
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:08:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3620982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brunettachoppa687/pseuds/brunettachoppa687, https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomofthefandoms/pseuds/TTICSY
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloning is very, very hard.  Good thing Vlad's there to... SORTA help~</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost Training (Take One)

“So, what we’re going to try to do today is start on the cloning technique.”

Danny glanced up at his teacher excitedly -- and admittedly, a bit nervously.  Floating in a deserted stretch of empty Ghost Zone, it was a place like this where he and Vlad did their messier practices, like juggling plasma and things like that, so they wouldn’t mess up the older ghost’s house.  “You might ask WHY we’re out HERE to try that,” Vlad said, almost like he was reading his mind.  “But no worries.  It’s just because for beginners, some body parts have the tendency to go haywire.  We don’t want to break anything.”

“Right…”  Danny sighed, biting his lip worriedly.  This had been a technique Vlad had been putting off for awhile, claiming it to be a too hard at the time for Danny to try.  They had slowly been building up to it, testing out Danny’s current level of power and slowly strengthening it.  Vlad seemed to think he was ready, and while Danny was really excited…  He was also worried.

What if he messed up?  What if he just couldn’t do it?  Wasn’t strong enough?

What if he let Vlad down?  He didn’t like disappointing him…

Oh well, nothing left to do but try!  He took in a deep breath, and then calmed himself down and cleared his head.  Once he felt ready, he met Vlad’s gaze.

“Ok, how do I do this?”

“Focus on your entire body,” Vlad murmured, lowering his voice to a soft, relaxing tone.  “Focus on everything you know about it.  The hum of your ecto-energy… the sound of your heartbeat… the taste on your tongue… and then, multitask with it.”

Danny blinked, confused.  “O-ok… I’ll give it a try.”

He closed his eyes and did as Vlad said.  He listened to the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears, the rush of the air in his lungs.  He focuses on the feel of his skin, or at least, he thinks he does.  He’s really not sure WHAT he’s doing besides standing there in complete silence.  

And NOTHING was happening.  

Maybe…  Maybe if he just gave a push?  Forced it along?  He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to will his body to separate, to become more.  A bead of sweat slid down his brow as his body strained, trying to obey his command but also trying to follow the laws of nature.  He pushed and pushed and pushed…

And finally, something gave.

He gasped and opened his eyes at the strange sensation, turning his head to look at…  Himself!

He did it!  

Oh… wait…

“Thats… not quite right, is it?”

Sitting on his shoulders, matching his own pout, was another head.  Not a clone, just a HEAD.  Danny scowled, unamused.

Vlad snorted.

The two-headed Danny turned to scowl at him; he cleared his throat, trying to cover his chuckles.  “That’s, ah, AHEM!  That’s a good start!  Hehehahaha-- COFF!  Mm!”

He smiled and crossed his arms, still brimming with good humor.  “I think I see your problem, though,” the older ghost informed the younger.  “Do you remember what I told you the first time I fought Skulker in front of you?  About how our bodies don’t apply to the rules you’re used to?”

Vlad floated over and put a hand on Danny’s shoulder.  “Daniel, it sounds like some kind of guru hullabaloo, but the best way to explain it is not to THINK you are, KNOW you are,” he said, shrugging.  “You’ve done it a bit before -- throwing monsters and punching creatures with no other thought than to cause as much damage as you can.  This is the same, only in a passive way.  Do you understand?”

He squeezed the boy’s shoulder reassuringly.  “Don’t think too hard.  Don’t force it.  Will it, and it will happen.”

Vlad floated back to his previous spot, folding his arms once more.  

“Now try again.”

Danny huffed, still scowling, before closing his eyes and following his teachers instructions.  Surprisingly, it was a lot harder to think, or NOT think, with two heads on his shoulders…

//Don’t think, just do.  Don’t think, just do.  Don’t think, just---//

//That doesn’t feel right… NOPE THAT FEELS BAD--!!//

Danny couldn’t help the choked shout that left his throat as his body began to split and splinter off like a tree growing branches.  Legs and arms and heads sprouted out like some sort of alien monstrosity, too many eyes and too many mouths following along like decoration.  Danny stumbled back, the sensation of seeing and hearing and THINKING in multiple places making him disoriented before finally settling down.  He groaned, opening his eyes to see how twisted his body had become.

He whined pathetically.  “I look like John Carpenter's ‘The THING’!!”

He watched his body move and twist in horrified fascination, before turning to look at a shell shocked Vlad.  He flushed emerald in humiliation.  “Don’t just stand there!  HELP me!”

Vlad stared at his twisted form for a second, his scarlet eyes incredulous.  “Well, until you DO master the cloning technique you could probably use that as an intimidation tactic…” he mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“NOT HELPING.”

“That’s just it, badger, I CAN’T help you,” Vlad replied, shrugging at his mutated student.  “It’s your body.  You’re not getting HURT by this, it is merely a… bulky... inconvenience, so you should figure out how to fix it, yourself.”

Danny grumbled, unhappy with his teachers reply, before focusing back on the task at hand.  He wasn’t sure HOW he was going to fix this, but he needed to TRY…

With a deep, calming breath, Danny closed his eyes once again and let everything go.  He took his time clearing his mind, waiting till he was doing nothing but standing in complete darkness and silence.  After that, he thought about the problem and only that.  

He wasn’t himself.  He had too many limbs and too many eyes and too many mouths.  So what was the solution?  This happened because he had focused too hard on splitting himself, but wasn’t PICTURING the outcome.  So maybe, if he just pictured HIMSELF…

And so he did.  In his minds eye, he rebuilt his body like he knew it.  Two legs, two arms, ten fingers and ten toes.  One mouth, one nose, two eyes…

On and on like this, until he had completely re-crafted himself down to the smallest detail.  He smiled, pleased with himself, and opened his eyes.

He blinked, shocked to find the extra appendages gone, and his body once more his own.  He grinned, punching the air with a whoop.  “I did it!”

“Good,” Vlad chuckled.  “What you know is key.  You just reshaped yourself according to what you know.  The cloning technique is DUPLICATING what you know, and still KNOWING it.  The better you know yourself and your own abilities, the easier this comes.  See why I waited to show you this technique?”

Danny sighed in disappointment, rubbing the back of his neck.  “Yeah…  But I was so sure I could do it!  You make it seem so EASY!”

“I didn’t realize it was so hard…”

“I would like to think I make it look easy!” Vlad laughed.  “You’ve been at it for not even one year and I’ve had these powers for twenty years.  Trust me, you’ll get it.”

He floated back over to Danny so he didn’t have to yell at him from over ten feet away.  “This actually is the very basics of an even greater technique,” the older ghost told his pupil.  “All spectral beings have this ability and -- while not all of them are even aware of it, let alone know how to USE it -- can also shapeshift to some degree or another, from simply forming a ghostly tail to changing in size to becoming something else entirely!  This is the yeast to the recipe.  Once you know all the ingredients and you have the proper skill level…”  
  
Vlad grinned down at him.  “You can even transform into another beast -- or person -- entirely.”

Danny grinned, eyes shining in awe as he looked up at Vlad.  “Like you and that dragon form!  You mean I could do something like THAT one day?”

Danny cocked his head to the side, momentarily lost in thought.  “Huh… I wonder what I would look like with wings and horns…”

He shook the thought out of his head and sighed.  “Well, that little stunt earlier kinda wore me out.  Think we can call it a day?”

His eyes took on a shine as he looked up at Vlad with pleading baby blue orbs.  “Maybe we could go out for some ice cream?  Please?”

Vlad blinked down at him, brows furrowed.  “But we JUST started, I--”

He frowned -- accosted by Danny’s big eyes -- and slowly felt his willpower crumble.  Vlad growled and slumped.  “Well, how am I supposed to say no when you look at me like THAT, you little scamp?” he muttered.

“Easy!” Danny giggled, already flying over Vlads head and back towards the portal.  “You don’t!”

Danny did a summersault, laugh echoing around the empty space, before zipping off.  “Race you there!”

Vlad cocked an eyebrow, fangs glinting.  //Challenging ME, badger~?//  
  
His muscles clenched.  //Looks like I’m going to teach you a lesson today after all~//

 


End file.
